Feb. 6 marks start of art show at heritage center
Feb. 8—”All you need to paint is a few tools, a little instruction and a vision in your mind.” — Bob Ross
On Sunday afternoon, the Dickinson County Heritage Center hosted the reception for the 2022 Heritage Art Show. Community members, parents and local students were invited to view and vote on Dickinson County K-12 students’ art work.
“It;s nice to have them here,” Heritage Center Director Austin Anders said. “It gives students an opportunity to show off all the hard work they’ve been doing.”
“It’s just amazing to walk through and see the talent the kids have,” Heritage Center Boardmember Gale Whitehair said. “It’s always good to see the progress.”
The museum split the different schools and institutional levels into different areas so people could observe the progress of challenging mediums & subjects. Heritage Center got to show off representative art from St. Andrew’s Catholic School, Abilene Elementary School, Abilene Middle School, Chapman schools, Solomon High School and more.
“The kids need the kudos that they get from having their stuff showcase and being able to bring their family and friends to see their art in a place like this hung up nicely with great lighting,” Solomon K-12 art teacher Karen Cooper said. “It does make a difference and it makes a difference to them when they get back to the classroom and they’ve seen their things up like this. They got some congratulations and some pats on the back and maybe even some votes that it helps them. It bolsters them in their confidence and abilities.”
“I’m really proud of my kids and I could have brought a lot more,” Cooper added. “I love the self portraits, the photography, the self portraits are wonderfully expressive and (the high school students) did such a good job of showing who they were and what they’re interested in and I really have some talented kids in that department.”
Every visitor at the art show will receive a ballot to vote for their favorite work, Elementary, Middle School and High School are split up and each level will have their own first place winners. Winners of the art show will receive cash prizes for their hard work. For those interested in the art show, the Heritage Center will be showcasing the art from Wednesday, Feb. 9 to Sunday, Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Advice to the art students
Anders, who did a “little bit” of art during his school years, loves seeing how students progress in their classes and wants to see them keep practicing their skills.
“It’s always neat to see what our students have been doing and the kind of progression that they’re gaining throughout their school years,” Anders said.
Cooper, who has been doing art since childhood, hopes that students who love art keep practicing no matter their life.
“I did art all the time at home growing up,” Cooper said. “In high school, I wasn’t allowed to do art until junior year because of the placement exam, you take your freshman year that said I was going to be a lawyer. Thank goodness I took art and decided to become an art teacher. Art is something you can do no matter what it is you do for a living. I tell my kids you don’t have to do art for a living, but you can always do art to live, to make your living nice.”
